U.S. patent number 6,511,070 [Application Number 09/547,018] was granted by the patent office on 2003-01-28 for casino card game method.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Canadian 21 Stook Ltd.. Invention is credited to Shirley Daines.
United States Patent |
6,511,070 |
Daines |
January 28, 2003 |
Casino card game method
Abstract
A casino card game is provided wherein the object of the game is
to obtain a hand close to or equal to 21 without exceeding 21. A
player is given an opportunity to place a raised bet in addition to
an initial bet after viewing the player's first card. If a player
does place a raised bet, any tie results in a dealer win.
Inventors: |
Daines; Shirley (Red Deer,
CA) |
Assignee: |
Canadian 21 Stook Ltd. (Red
Deer, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
24183008 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/547,018 |
Filed: |
April 11, 2000 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/292; 273/274;
273/306; 273/309 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F
3/00157 (20130101); A63F 2001/003 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A63F
3/00 (20060101); A63F 1/00 (20060101); A63F
003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;273/236,292,274,306,309 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
Scarne's Encyclopedia of Games, John Scarne, Harper & Row,
1973--pp. 276-290..
|
Primary Examiner: Layno; Benjamin H.
Assistant Examiner: Collins; Dolores
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bennett Jones LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of playing a card game by a dealer and at least one
player comprising the steps of: (a) providing at least one deck of
standard playing cards in random order; (b) allowing each player to
place an initial bet in a suitable amount; (c) dealing one card
face down or face up to the player and then one card face down to
the dealer; (d) allowing the player to place a raised bet if the
player so desires after viewing the player's initial card,
regardless of the value of the player's initial card, in addition
to a double down bet, if any; (e) dealing additional cards, one by
one, face up to the player until the player stands, until the
player's hand exceeds 21 or until the player hand has five cards,
whichever occurs first; (f) uncovering the dealer's face down card
after the player has stopped taking additional cards and dealing
additional cards, one by one, to the dealer until the dealer busts,
until the dealer reaches a hard 17 or more or until the dealer has
five cards, whichever occurs first; and (g) determining the winner
as between the dealer and the player in accordance with a
pre-determined set of rules.
2. The card game method of claim 1 wherein there are two or more
players and the dealer deals a new first dealer card and repeats
steps (d) through (g) with the next player after the previous
player is finished playing a hand.
3. The card game method of claim 1 wherein the player is permitted
to place a raised bet in addition to the original bet to a maximum
raised bet of 4 times the original bet.
4. The card game method of claim 3 wherein the player is permitted
to place a limited raised bet only if the player has received an
Ace as the first card, in which case the outcome is a push only if
both player and dealer have 20 or both have 21.
5. The card game method of claim 4 wherein the limited raised bet
may be to a maximum of twice the original bet.
6. The card game method of claim 1 further comprising the step of
burning the dealer's face down card if the player busts and
redealing a face down card to the dealer to play with the next
player.
7. The card game method of claim 1 wherein if the player has two
aces with his/her first two cards, the outcome is player wins
unless the dealer also has two aces with the dealer's first two
cards, in which case: (a) the outcome is a push if there was no
raised bet; or (b) the outcome is dealer wins if there was a raised
bet.
8. The card game method of claim 1 wherein the dealer must continue
to hit as long as the dealer's point value is less than 17,
although the dealer may choose to stand upon reaching a soft 17 or
a five card had under 21.
9. The card game method of claim 1 wherein the player may double
the initial and raised bet after receiving the initial card and one
additional card, after which the player must receive one and only
one additional card.
10. The card game method of claim 1 wherein the player may split
his first two cards if the two cards are the same card by placing
an additional bet equal to the player's initial and raised bet, if
any, and playing the two split cards as separate hands.
11. The card game method of claim 10 wherein the player may double
down on one or both of the split hands after receiving a second
card on either or both split hands.
12. The card game method of claim 1 wherein the set of rules is
substantially that shown in Table 2 herein.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of playing a casino card
game. In particular, the invention relates to a method of playing a
card game which is a variation of blackjack or "21", which are well
known in the art.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
In traditional blackjack, there is no or limited opportunity for a
player to increase his or her bet after the player has placed a bet
on a given hand. If the player has a favourable first card, the
player may wish to increase the bet and may be willing to bear
additional risk in doing so. There is no such opportunity in
conventional blackjack. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a
blackjack style casino card game which permits a player to raise
his or her initial bet after receiving and viewing a first card
while not skewing the odds in the player's favour by providing such
an opportunity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides for a method of playing a casino
card game between a dealer and at least one player. When describing
the present invention, the following terms have the following
meanings, unless indicated otherwise. All terms not defined herein
have their common art-recognized meanings.
A. Definitions
The term "betting square" refers to an area where a player may
place a bet to play a hand against the dealer. A player may play
more than one betting square.
The term "dealer" refers to the house employee or agent against
whom the player plays the game and who deals the cards as the game
is played.
The term "hand" refers to a single set of cards which has been
dealt to the dealer or a player, the point value of which is added
up to determine the value of the hand.
The term "house" refers to the organisation who provides the game
and which earns money from the lost bets of players or loses money
to the winning bets of players.
The term "player" refers to an individual who is gambling against
the house by playing the game.
The term "natural stook" refers to a hand which has two cards, both
of which are Aces.
The term "push" refers to an outcome where neither the player nor
the house wins and is the result of a tie in point value between
the dealer's hand and the player's hand.
The term "soft hand" refers to a hand which has an Ace card
counting as 11 points. All other hands are referred to as a "hard
hand".
B. Description
The games of the present invention may be played with a standard
deck or decks of playing cards. The primary object for a player of
the games of the present invention is to achieve a hand which has a
point value closer to 21 than the dealer, without going over 21. In
determining the point value of a hand, the following cards have the
indicated point value:
TABLE 1 Aces 1 or 11 Face Cards 10 2 through 10 Face Value
In each game, the dealer's hand is compared to the player's hand
and the winner is determined by determining which hand has a point
value closer to 21, in accordance with the following list of
priority:
TABLE 2 1. Natural stook; 2. A five card hand less than or equal to
21; and 3. Any hand less than or equal to 21.
A natural stook wins against all other hands except another natural
stook. A five card hand wins against all other hands except a
natural stook and another five card hand closer to 21. If both
dealer and player have a five card hand less than or equal to 21,
then whoever is closer to 21 wins. A bust hand is an automatic
losing hand.
The basic game is played by first requiring each player to place an
initial bet. After each player has placed an initial bet, the
dealer begins dealing the cards, first dealing one face down (or
face up) card to each player and then one face down card to the
dealer. The players may look at their first card. Play then
continues with the dealer playing a hand against each player or
betting square in turn.
The first player may, after viewing her first card, place a raised
bet in addition to the initial bet. In one embodiment, the raised
bet may be any amount equal to or greater than the table minimum up
to a maximum amount. In one embodiment, the maximum raised bet is
equal to four times the initial bet. For example, if the initial
bet was 5 dollars, which is the table minimum, the raised bet may
be an additional 5 to 20 dollars, for a total bet of 10 to 25
dollars. The player may choose not to raise the bet, in which case
play continues.
After permitting the player to place a raised bet, the dealer will
deal a second card to the player face up. The player will
thereafter indicate to the dealer whether or not additional cards
are desired. The player may take as many additional cards as
desired, to a maximum of five cards in total. Alternatively, the
player may choose to stand by refusing additional cards after
receiving the second card or any subsequent card. If at any time
the point total exceeds 21, the player's hand is bust and the
player loses the initial bet and any raised bet.
When the player stands, the dealer will then turn over the dealer's
first card and deal a second card. The dealer must continue to deal
himself cards if his hand shows 16 or less and must stand on a hand
of hard 17 or more. The dealer will also stop if his hand consists
of five cards and he has not exceeded 21. As with the player, if
the dealer hand exceeds 21, the dealer's hand is bust and the
player wins.
After the dealer has either achieved a point value of hard 17 or
more, without exceeding 21, the point value of the player's hand is
compared to that of the dealer. The higher point hand wins subject
to the priorities listed in Table 2. If the player wins, the house
will pay to the player an amount equal to the sum of the initial
and raised bet. If the dealer wins, the player will pay to the
house all amounts that the player bet. In the event of a tie, the
bet is a push, except where the player has placed a raised bet. If
the player has placed a raised bet and in the event of a tie, the
dealer wins and the player's bets are lost.
In one embodiment, if the player receives an ace as the first card
which was dealt face down, the player must turn it over for the
dealer to see. If the player then places a raised bet, the player
may only take one additional card. If no raised bet is placed, the
player may take more than one additional card. If the player's
second card is also an ace, the player then wins automatically,
unless the dealer also receives two aces as his first two cards,
then the bet is a push unless a raised bet was made. If a raised
bet was made, the player loses when both player and dealer have two
aces.
Once the winner between the dealer and first betting square or
player is determined and the bet paid or collected, the dealer then
deals himself a new face down initial card and plays against the
next betting square or player in the same manner as the first
player.
In one alternative embodiment, the house may permit the player to
double down after receiving the player's second card. When doubling
down, the player places a double down bet which is equal to the
initial and raised bet, if any. The player then receives one
additional card and no more. In one embodiment, if the dealer makes
a natural stook after a player has doubled down, the player loses
only the original bet and raised bet but not the double down
bet.
In another alternative embodiment, the house may permit the player
to split the first two cards if the first two cards are the same.
For example, if the player's first two cards are both 7's,
regardless of suit, the player may split those cards and play them
as separate hands. When a player splits his cards, the player must
place an additional bet on the split hand equal to the initial bet
and raised bet on the original hand. If the next card dealt to the
player is again the same card, the player may split again, to a
maximum of four split hands. The first split hand is then played to
completion before playing the second or subsequent split hands. The
player may double down on a split hand.
In yet another alternative embodiment, if a player has received an
Ace as his first card, the house may permit the player to place a
limited raised bet whereupon a tie of 20 or 21 would result in a
push, rather than a dealer win. A tie of 19 or less would result in
a dealer win. The limited raised bet may be to a maximum of twice
the initial bet. In this embodiment, the player has the option of
such a limited raised bet or the regular higher raised bet (up to a
maximum of 4 times the initial bet). In the latter case, the player
would lose in the event of any tie with the dealer.
As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, various
modifications, adaptations and variations of the foregoing specific
disclosure can be made without departing from the scope of the
invention claimed herein.
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